Moroccan men 'sexually harassed' by female bosses
Sexual harassment of men by women is a problem too in Morocco , a "men's rights" group has claimed, especially by female superiors the workplace.
2 min read
26 Feb, 2016
Sexual harassment affects women disproportionately but men can be victims too [Anadolu]
"Hey handsome, what pretty eyes you have!"
"You are like a gazelle walking the earth!"
These are some of the lines some women in Morocco are now allegedly using on men, if claims by the Moroccan Network for the Defence of Men's Rights are to be believed.
"There are many instances where women hit on men, which our group monitors," said Abdel-Fattah Bahjaji, head of the group.
Bahjaji told The New Arab most cases involve women making unsolicited passes at their male subordinates at work.
When the "victims" resist their bosses' overtures, they face harrassment or sacking, Bahjaji claimed.
Mariam al-Rabihi, sociologist, downplayed the allegations.
"Harrassment of men by women exists for sure, but we cannot call it a phenomenon," she told The New Arab.
"Moroccan society is no longer an insular society. There have been profound transformations in the way the two sexes communicate," she added.
The New Arab spoke to Murad, who says he is a victim of sexual harassment by a woman, his superior at an insurance firm he previously worked for.
"Each time she entered my office she would stare at me and call me Bokous (handsome)," he said.
Murad, who is married, said this went on until it became a nuisance, but he was too afraid to say anything to avoid problems at work.
After he declined her invitation to dinner at her home, he claimed she started harassing him and denied him promotion. In the end, he said he had to quit.
According to a 2008 survey by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), 79 percent of respondents who reported having experienced workplace sexual harassment were female and 21 percent were male.
Men in Morocco in situations where power relations favour women could indeed be exposed to sexual harassment, but the problem in both the workplace and wider society affects women disproportionately in the kingdom, where harassment agaisnt women in the streets is rife.
"You are like a gazelle walking the earth!"
These are some of the lines some women in Morocco are now allegedly using on men, if claims by the Moroccan Network for the Defence of Men's Rights are to be believed.
"There are many instances where women hit on men, which our group monitors," said Abdel-Fattah Bahjaji, head of the group.
Bahjaji told The New Arab most cases involve women making unsolicited passes at their male subordinates at work.
When the "victims" resist their bosses' overtures, they face harrassment or sacking, Bahjaji claimed.
Mariam al-Rabihi, sociologist, downplayed the allegations.
"Harrassment of men by women exists for sure, but we cannot call it a phenomenon," she told The New Arab.
"Moroccan society is no longer an insular society. There have been profound transformations in the way the two sexes communicate," she added.
The New Arab spoke to Murad, who says he is a victim of sexual harassment by a woman, his superior at an insurance firm he previously worked for.
"Each time she entered my office she would stare at me and call me Bokous (handsome)," he said.
Murad, who is married, said this went on until it became a nuisance, but he was too afraid to say anything to avoid problems at work.
After he declined her invitation to dinner at her home, he claimed she started harassing him and denied him promotion. In the end, he said he had to quit.
According to a 2008 survey by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), 79 percent of respondents who reported having experienced workplace sexual harassment were female and 21 percent were male.
Men in Morocco in situations where power relations favour women could indeed be exposed to sexual harassment, but the problem in both the workplace and wider society affects women disproportionately in the kingdom, where harassment agaisnt women in the streets is rife.
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